Building lending still resilient
Lending for new home construction rose by 9.2 percent in July, following a rise of 9.6 percent in June, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
However, loans for the purchase of newly erected homes fell by 5.6 percent in July, leading to an overall decline of 1.6 percent in total housing finance approvals for the month.
Ruth Morschel, the Housing Industry Association ’s executive director of public housing says the figures “reflect a spillover from a late rush of buyers taking up the Government’s first home owners grant before it was scaled back from $10,000 to $7,000 on July 1.”
She noted a similar pattern was evident in January when the strength in housing finance approvals continued despite the initial paring back of the grant from $14,000 to $7000.
HIA forecasts for 2002/03 are for a 12.8 percent fall in housing starts, however the value of work done on renovations is forecast to increase by five percent.
Source: Building Products News.
9-Sep-2002